Broncos Rewind: Super Bowl 50: Denver vs. Carolina

The Broncos are making their 8th Super Bowl appearance in franchise history and their second in three years. They come in as six point underdogs to the 15-1 Carolina Panthers. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are at the call for the game from Santa Clara, California. After a terrific rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Lady Gaga, the game is finally here on a beautiful, sunny day in Northern California. The Broncos, the home team, are wearing their white jerseys and the Panthers are going with their black jerseys.

The Panthers win the toss and defer to the second half. Andre Caldwell takes the kick and returns it to the Broncos 21.

Broncos first possession starts at their own 21.
On 1st and 10, Manning hits Owen Daniels over the middle for a gain of 16 to the 37 and a first down. On 1st and 10, Manning hits Emmanuel Sanders on an out route for a gain of 6. On 2nd and 4, Manning throws incomplete to Daniels in the flat on a naked bootleg. On 3rd and 4, Manning hits Caldwell on a corner route for a huge gain and first down to the Carolina 34. On 1st and 10, C.J. Anderson gains seven yards on a run to the right. On 2nd and 3, Anderson breaks off a big run down to the Carolina 14 for a huge first down. On 1st and 10, Ronnie Hillman runs up the middle and loses three yards. On 2nd and 13, Manning's throw to Hillman in the flat gets knocked down. On 3rd and 13, Manning throws to Anderson in the flat but he gets knocked out of bounds for no gain. That sets up Brandon McManus who nails a 34 yard field goal and the Broncos strike first for an early 3-0 lead.

Denver leads 3-0.

The Broncos kick off and Joe Webb returns it to the Carolina 19.

Carolina's first possession starts at their own 19 with 10:36 to go in the first quarter.
On 1st and 10, Jonathan Stewart runs right and only gains 2 yards. On 2nd and 8, Cam Newton throws high and incomplete to Philly Brown. On 3rd and 8, Newton completes a pass to Greg Olsen over the middle for a gain of 7, but Aqib Talib tackles him short of the first down. On 4th and inches, the Panthers elect to punt and Sanders calls for a fair catch at the Denver 25.

Denver's second possession starts at their own 25 with 9:18 left in the 1st quarter.
On 1st and 10, a quick throw to Sanders gets 7 yards. On 2nd and 3, Anderson runs for 2 yards to the left. On 3rd and 1, Manning throws an out to Anderson but he gets tackled right away for no gain. On 4th and 1, Denver punts and Britton Colquitt punts to 15 and Ted Ginn returns it and goes nowhere as Kayvon Webster tackles him for no gain.

Carolina's second possession starts at their 15 with 7:22 to go in the 1st quarter.
On 1st and 10, Newton throws over the middle to Jerricho Cotchery, who bobbles it and the pass is called incomplete. Ron Rivera challenges it, and the call is upheld so the ruling on the field stands. On 2nd and 10, Stewart runs the ball up the middle and gets wrapped up by Derek Wolfe for no gain. On 3rd and 10, Newton gets blindsided by Von Miller, who strips him of the ball, and Malik Jackson pounces on it in the endzone for a touchdown. Miller continues his dominant postseason, and this will always be remembered as the biggest play in the Super Bowl. The Broncos got the defensive touchdown that they needed to get to win this game. After McManus nails the extra point, the Broncos lead 10-0 with 6:27 to go in the 1st quarter.

Broncos lead 10-0.

The Broncos kick off to the Panthers and Joe Webb returns the kick to the Carolina 21.
Carolina's third possession starts on the 21 with 6:21 to go in the quarter.
On 1st and 10, Newton runs the option and pitches it to Fozzy Whitaker, who gets a first down to the 36. On 1st and 10, Mike Tolbert runs up the middle for a gain of 2 and he fumbles but the Panthers recover. On 2nd and 8, Newton throws high and incomplete over the middle. On 3rd and 8, Newton gets flushed by Demarcus Ware and T.J. Ward and finally gets sacked by Darian Stewart. There was a flag on the play and Talib gets called for taunting and unsportmanlike conduct and the Panthers get an automatic first down. On 1st and 10 from the 45, Whitaker runs up the middle for a gain of only 1 yard. On 2nd and 9, a quick WR screen to Philly Brown gets 5 yards. On 3rd and 4 from the Denver 49, Newton throws for Cotchery and the pass gets broken up by Bradley Roby. The Panthers are forced to punt and Jordan Norwood fair catches at the Denver 13.

Broncos third possession starts on their own 13 with 3:12 to go in the 1st quarter.
On 1st and 10, Manning completes to Sanders underneath off a play-action for a gain of 7. On 2nd and 3, Anderson runs up the middle for no gain. On 3rd and 3, Manning gets sacked by Luke Keuchly for a big loss and the Broncos are forced to punt. Colquitt punts and returns it for a loss of 1 at their own 40. A penalty on Carolina knocks them back even more.

Carolina's third possession starts at their own 27 with 1:15 to go in the 1st quarter.
On 1st and 10, Stewart runs up the middle and loses a yard due to a Malik Jackson tackle. On 2nd and 11, Newton hits an wide open Philly Brown on a corner route for a big gain and a first down. On 1st and 10 from the Carolina 47, Newton completes a pass to Stewart in the flat but Brandon Marshall is there to knock him back for a loss of 1.
End of 1st Quarter: Denver leads 10-0.

Start of the 2nd Quarter. On 2nd and 11, Newton runs for a first down. On 1st and 15 from the Denver 48 after a false start, Newton scrambles for 12 yards and runs out of bounds. On 2nd and 3 from the Denver 36, Stewart runs up the middle and gets gang-tackled by the Broncos for a gain of 2. On 3rd and 1, Newton rolls right and throws back across the field to Olsen for a big gain and first down to the Broncos 15. On 1st and 10, Newton hits Philly Brown on a crossing route and he gets it down to the Denver 3. Browns gets face masked by Talib, who throws him out of bounds and it results in a personal foul and gives the Panthers and 1st and goal from the Denver 1. Talib had a really bad start to the game and his head was just not in it at this point. He lost control of his emotions and it looked like it was really going to hurt the Broncos. On 1st and goal, Stewart leaps over the goaline for 1 yard touchdown run and the extra point is good and the Panthers cut the lead to 10-7.

Broncos-10 Panthers-7 with 10:25 to go in the 2nd quarter.

After a touchback, Denver's fourth possession starts at their own 20 with 11:25 to go in the 2nd quarter.
On 1st and 10, Manning drops back, trips to avoid a sack and throws the ball away. The officials ruled it an incomplete pass, but Ron Rivera challenges it because it appears that Manning was touched on his way down. The review agrees and overturns the call and it counts as a loss of seven yards with the sack. The problem is that Rivera is now out of challenges in the game and it is early in the 2nd quarter. I think Rivera made an error there by challenging that play and it could have turned out to be a disaster as the game went on. On 2nd and 17 from their own 13, Manning throws a deep seam to Norwood, but it almost gets picked off by Josh Norman. On 3rd and 17, Manning throws an underneath crosser to Demaryius Thomas and he gets hit immediately by Keuchly and ball falls incomplete. A bad series by the Broncos and the Panthers defense is starting to assert themselves. On 4th and 17, the Broncos punt and the ball goes out of bounds at the Panthers 49.

Carolina's fourth possession starts at their own 49 with 10:46 to go in the 2nd quarter.
On 1st and 10, Stewart runs the ball up the middle and gets gobbled up by multiple Broncos for a gain of 2. On 2nd and 8, Newton throws a lateral to Ted Ginn, who looks to throw, has no one open and has to run out of bounds for a loss of 2. On 3rd and 12, Newton's pass over the middle gets swatted down by Darian Stewart and the Panthers are forced to punt again. Carolina punts to the Denver 25 and Norwood fields the punt, gets run into by two Panthers, and somehow squirts free and returns the punt down the sideline and almost breaks it for a touchdown all the way down to the Panthers 14 for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. This was one of my most favorite plays of the game and it gives the Broncos great field position.

Denver's fifth possession starts at the Carolina 14 with 9:11 to go in the 2nd quarter.
On 1st and 10, Manning hits Anderson underneath and he gets 7 yards. On 2nd and 3, Anderson runs up the middle for a gain of 2. On 3rd and 1, Anderson runs again and this time it goes for no gain. On 4th and 1 from the Panthers 5, Gary Kubiak elects to go for it, and I thought it was the right call at the time and I still do, and Anderson runs up the middle and gets 2 yards for the 1st down, but a holding call on Louis Vasquez negates the play and the Broncos have to settle for the field goal. McManus calmly hits the 33 yarder and it is 13-7 Broncos.

Broncos-13 Panthers-7  6:58 to go in the 2nd quarter.

Denver kicks off and the ball gets kicked out of the endzone for a touchback.

Carolina's fifth possession begins on their own 20 with 6:58 to go in the half.
On 1st and 10, Newton throws to Stewart in the flat but it falls incomplete and Danny Trevathan was there anyway. On 2nd and 10, Newton runs up the middle for a gain of 15 and a personal foul on Malik Jackson adds another 15. On 1st and 10 from the Denver 49, Tolbert runs up the middle, gets 10 yards, gets crushed by Darian Stewart and fumbles the ball. Danny Trevathan recovers it and the Broncos have another turnover. Huge hit and big play by the Broncos defense once again.

Denver's sixth possession begins at their own 40 with 6:32 to go in the half.
On 1st and 10, Manning's pass to Thomas is broken up. On 2nd and 10, Anderson runs right, breaks through the line, and breaks two more tackles as he rumbles all the way down to the Panthers 26. I remember thinking that the Broncos might blow this thing open at this point. On 1st and 10, Ronnie Hillman runs left and gains 3 yards. On 2nd and 7, Hillman runs up the middle and it gets blown up right away and he loses 1 yard. On 3rd and 8 from the Carolina 24, Manning looks for Sanders underneath and he gets picked off by Kony Ealy, who returns it to the Carolina 39. A huge mistake by Manning and a huge opportunity wasted by the Broncos.

Carolina's sixth possession begins at their own 39 with 4:22 to go in the half.
On 1st and 10, Newton gets pressured by Von Miller and Malik Jackson and is forced to throw the ball away to avoid the sack. On 2nd and 10, a toss to Whitaker gets nothing and he gets bottled up by Wolfe and Sylvester Williams. On 3rd and 10, Newton throws incomplete over the middle and the Panthers have to punt again. The ball goes into the endzone for a touchback.

Denver's seventh possession begins at their own 20 with 3:17 to go in the half.
On 1st and 10, a quick screen to Demaryius Thomas gets 8 yards. On 2nd and 2, Anderson runs for no gain. On 3rd and 2, Manning throws incomplete to the left sideline and the Broncos have to punt. Colquitt crushes a punt and Ginn has to fair catch at the 19.

Carolina's seventh possession begins at their own 19 with 1:55 to go in the half.
On 1st and 10, Newton runs a draw up the middle and only gains 2 yards after Chris Harris tracks him down. After a false start, it is 2nd and 12, Newton throws high and wide and incomplete over the middle. On 3rd and 12, Newton waits and buys time and finds Philly Brown over the middle for a leaping grab and a first down for the Panthers. At the 41 on 1st and 10, Newton throws incomplete as Talib breaks it up. On 2nd and 10, Newton completes a pass to Olsen who gets tackled right away by T.J. Ward for a gain of 7. On 3rd and 3, Newton runs up the middle for a gain of 6 and a first down. On 1st and 10, Newton gets pressured by Miller and has to throw it away. On 2nd and 10 with only 9 seconds left, Newton gets blindsided by Ware for the sack and the half ends.

Halftime: Denver-13 Carolina-7

Start of the 3rd Quarter.
Denver kicks off to start the second half and it is downed for a touchback.

Carolina's eight possession starts at their own 20.
On 1st and 10, Stewart runs up the middle and gets gang tackled by the Broncos for no gain. On 2nd and 10, Newton hits Ted Ginn over the middle and Ginn breaks it for a huge gain all the way down to the Denver 35. On 1st and 10, Newton gets harassed by Miller and Ware and has to throw it away. On 2nd and 10, Whittaker gets a gain of 10 upthe middle and another first down. On 1st and 10 from the Denver 40, Tolbert gets only a gain of 1.On 2nd and 9, Newton hits Ginn over the middle for a gain of 15 and another first down. On 1st and 10 from the Denver 25, Newton runs up the middle and goes nowhere as Ware and Jackson are right there to stop him. On 2nd and 11, Newton looks for Cotchery down the sideline and it gets broken up by Von Miller. On 3rd and 11, Newton is pressured and throws it away. On 4th down, Graham Gano attempts a 45 yard field goal and it clangs off the upright and is no good. That was such a big break for the Broncos as the Panthers put together a solid drive to start the half and they come away with nothing.

Denver's eight possession starts at their own 34 with 10:48 to go in the 3rd quarter.
On 1st and 10, Manning hits Sanders on a skinny post for a huge gain all the way down to the Panthers 41. On 1st and 10, Anderson runs left for a gain of 2. On 2nd and 8, Manning hits Sanders again on a curl route and Sanders breaks it all the way inside the 20 of Carolina. After a five yard penalty, on 1st and 5, Anderson runs right for no gain. On 2nd and 5, Manning overthrows DT in the endzone. On 3rd and 5, Manning throws incomplete to Thomas again underneath. The Broncos settle for a 30 yard field goal and Brandon McManus nails it to give Denver a 16-7 with 8:19 to go in the 3rd quarter.

Broncos-13 Panthers-7

Denver's kickoff goes out of the endzone for a touchback.

Carolina's ninth possession starts at their own 20.
On 1st and 10, Newton throws a deep pass to Philly Brown, who jumps up and catches it in between Talib and Ward for a huge gain all the way to the Denver 38. On 1st and 10, Newton throws left to Ginn, who squirts back and runs across the field to get only 4. On 2nd and 6, Stewart runs for a gain of 7 and a first down. On 1st and 10, Newton gets pressured by Ware and has to throw it away. On 2nd and 10, Newton throws over the middle and off of Ginn's hands into T.J. Ward's arms for the interception. Ward tries to run with it and gets hit and fumbles, but Danny Trevathan recovers it deep in Denver territory. What a huge pick by Ward and once again the Broncos defense stops a promising Carolina drive and what a break for Trevathan to recover the fumble.

Denver's ninth possession starts at their own 7 with 5:43 to go in the 3rd quarter.
On 1st and 10, Anderson rumbles up the middle and barrels his way to the 20 for a gain of 13. On 1st and 10, Anderson runs up the middle for no gain. On 2nd and 10, Manning gets sacked by Ealy for a loss of 7. On 3rd and 17, Hillman runs a draw for a gain of 2. Denver punts and Ginn fields it at the 30 and runs out of bounds at the 35.

Carolina's 10th possession starts at their own 19, after a penalty, with 3:12 to go in the 3rd quarter.
On 1st and 10, Stewart runs up the middle for no gain as Derek Wolfe gobbles him up. On 2nd and 10, Newton completes a pass to Ginn on the sideline for a gain of 11. On 1st and 10, Newton gets pressured and throws low and incomplete. On 2rd and 15, after another false start, Newton completes a pass to Olsen underneath for a gain of 7. On 3rd and 8, Newton gets sacked by Wolfe and Miller as they crush the pocket and take him down. Carolina has to punt on 4th down and Norwood has to fair catch it at the Denver 32.

Denver's 10th possession starts at their own 32 with 19 seconds to go in the half.
On 1st and 10, Anderson runs right and losses 1 yard.

Start of the 4th Quarter
Denver-16 Carolina-7

On 2nd and 10 from their own 32, Manning hits Sanders on a slant for a first down and an unsportsmanlike penalty on Carolina puts the ball at the Panthers 37. On 1st and 10, Manning drops back and the ball gets knocked out of his hand by Ealy, but Manning falls on it for a loss of 5. On 2nd and 15, Anderson runs up the middle for no gain as Charles Johnson stops him. On 3rd and 15 from the Carolina 42, Manning gets stripped sacked again by Ealy and Carolina recovers the fumble at midfield for a crucial turnover.

Carolina's 11th possession starts at the 50 with 13:17 to go in the game.
On 1st and 10, Newton hits Devin Funchess for a quick slant and a first down to the Denver 34. On 1st and 10, Stewart runs left for a gain of 11 and another first down. On 1st and 10 from the Denver 22, Stewart runs up the middle for a gain of 3. On 2nd and 7, Tolbert runs right for a gain of 2 and gets wrapped up by a host of Broncos. The Broncos really all got to the ball in the run game and there were constantly multiple Bronco defenders stopping the Panthers' running backs. On 3rd and 5,
another false start on the Panthers knocks them back five yards. On 3rd and 10 from the Denver 21, Newton throws over the middle of Ted Ginn and Bradley Roby knocks the ball out of his hands for an incomplete pass and big stop by the Broncos defense. That forces the Panthers to attempt a 39 yard field goal and Gano nails it to cut the Broncos lead to 16-10 with 10:21 to play in the game.

The ensuing kickoff is returned by Andre Caldwell to the Denver 24.
Denver's 11th possession starts at their own 24 with 10:16 to play in the game.
On 1st and 10, Manning completes a pass to Anderson in the flat for a gain of 2. On 2nd and 8, Anderson runs right for a gain of only 2. On 3rd and 6, Manning looks for Thomas on a seam route but Josh Norman jumps in front of it and almost picks it off. On 4th and 6, the Broncos punt and Ted Ginn catches it and immediately goes out of bounds.

Carolina's 12th possession starts at their own 27 with 9:00 to go in the game.
On 1st and 10, Stewart runs right and Brandon Marshall tackles him for no gain. On 2nd and 10, another false start on Carolina knocks them back 5 yards. On 2nd and 15, Newton's pass is knocked down at the line of scrimmage by Malik Jackson. On 3rd and 15, Demarcus Ware forces Newton to throw early and he completes to Cotchery underneath but Chris Harris is right there to tackle him and the Panthers are forced to punt and Jordan Norwood fair catches it at the Broncos 25.

Denver's 12th possession starts at their own 25 with 7:07 to play in the game.
On 1st and 10, Ronnie Hillman runs right, gets stuffed, and loses 1 yard. On 2nd and 11, Anderson runs left and only get 2 yards. On 3rd and 9, Manning gives to Anderson out of the shotgun and Anderson only gets a yard up the middle. The Broncos punt again and the ball bounces out of bounds at the 24 of Carolina.

Carolina's 13th possession starts at their own 24 with 4:51 to play in the game.
On 1st and 10, Tolbert runs up the middle for a gain of 1 as Marshall and Trevathan swallow him up. On 2nd and 9, Newton throws wide and incomplete for Funchess on the sideline. On 3rd and 9, Von Miller speed rushes and swats the ball out of Newton's hands, there is a scramble for the ball, and T.J. Ward pounces on it inside the Carolina 5 yard line. This was the play of the game as once again Von Miller comes through and makes an impact and once again the Broncos defense steps up and gets the turnover they need.

Denver's 13th possession starts at the Carolina 4 yard line with only 4:04 to go in the game.
On 1st and goal, Anderson ran up the middle, bounced it outside, but a group of Panthers defenders were there to stop him for a loss of 2. On 2nd and goal from the Carolina 6, Anderson ran right again and got 2 yards back. Carolina calls a timeout with 3:17 to play. On 3rd and goal from the 4, Manning overthrows Demaryius Thomas on a fade in the end zone, but Josh Norman gets called for defensive holding, and that gives Denver a huge 1st and goal. It was a questionable call but it did look like Norman had his hand around Thomas, so the Broncos get setup with a 1st and goal from the Carolina 2. On 1st and goal at the 2 with 3:13 to go, C.J. Anderson runs up the middle and breaks two tackles and plunges his way into the end zone for the back-breaking touchdown. Their defense set them up and the Broncos offense capitalized to effectively put the game away. Up 22-10 with 3:08 to go, Gary Kubiak makes the right call and goes for the two-point conversion. On the conversion, Manning, in an empty shotgun set, hits Bennie Fowler with a quick slant, and the diving Fowler catches it to give Denver the 24-10 lead. That would turn out to be Peyton Manning's last pass of his career. The Broncos lead 24-10 with 3:08 to go in the game.

Broncos-24 Panthers-10 3:08 to go in the 4th quarter.

Denver kicks off Carolina and the kick gets downed for a touchback.

Carolina's 14th possession starts at their own 20 with 3:08 to go in the game.
On 1st and 10, Newton throws over the middle and it gets knocked away by Aqib Talib. On 2nd and 10, Malik Jackson forces Newton out of the pocket and Demarcus Ware cleans it up for another sack and now the party is almost about to begin in Denver. On 3rd and 24 from their own 6, Newton somehow avoids the sack and the safety by Von Miller and gets flushed out of the pocket and has to throw it away as Derek Wolfe buries him in the end zone. You could really see the frustration on Newton's face at this point in the game. On 4th and 26, Ron Rivera decides to punt the ball when there is only 2:08 left in the game. I get it that it is 4th and 26 from your own 6, but punting there is going to do nothing. Even if they force the 3 and out and use their last two timeouts and the 2:00 warning, They aren't going to have enough time to get two scores. Just take a chance and throw a hail mary there and see what happens. You never know. That was a very questionable call by Rivera there. The Panthers punt and the ball is downed at the 37 yard line.

Denver's 14th possession starts at their own 37 with 1:57 to go in the game.
On 1st and 10, Anderson runs left and falls down for no gain. Carolina takes timeout #2 with 1:51 left. On 2nd and 10, Anderson runs right for a gain of 3 to the 40 and Carolina takes timeout #3 with 1:46 left. On 3rd and 7, Anderson runs up the middle for a gain of 7 to the Denver 45. On 4th and 2, Denver punts and the ball goes out of bounds at the Carolina 27 with 54 seconds left.

Carolina's 15th possession starts at their own 27 with 54 seconds left.
On 1st and 10, Newton completes to Cotchery over the middle and he laterals it to Whittaker, who gets a first down to about the 40. On 1st and 10, Newton gets pressured again and it throws it high towards the sideline and incomplete with 23 seconds left in the game. Von Miller and Demarcus Ware just dumped Gatorade on Gary Kubiak and the celebration is starting on the sidelines. On 2nd and 10, Newton dumps it off to Whittaker and he gets tackled right away by Trevathan for a gain of only 5. After the play, there was a penalty on Carolina for a late hit and it pushed them back 15 yards and it also required a 10 second run off. With only 1 second left in the game, the clock ran off without the Panthers running another play, and the Broncos started to storm the field and celebrate as the confetti began to come down on them. CBS showed a graphic showing that Peyton Manning is now a 2-time Super Bowl winner and the Broncos began the celebration as Super Bowl 50 Champions. Von Miller was named the MVP, and John Elway accepted the Vince Lombardi Trophy and fittingly exclaimed "This one's for Pat" in honor of legendary Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who is stricken with Alzheimer's disease. The Broncos won their 3rd Super Bowl title in franchise history and their first since the 1998 season. Peyton Mannng gets his 2nd Super Bowl of his career in what turned out to be his final game. The Broncos defense put an exclamation point on their dominant season, and they put themselves alongside the 1985 Bears and the 2000 Ravens as one of the greatest defenses ever. The Broncos are back on top of the mountain as Super Bowl Champs, and the Lombardi Trophy is coming back to the Mile High city.